BELL-AGUSTA AB-139 (N5NJ)

New Jersey State Police SouthSTAR Aeromedical Helicopter Waiting After Landing At A Public Relations Event In Southern New Jersey. Piloted By Two State Troopers From The New Jersey State Police Aviation Bureau, It Previously Was Assigned To Aeromedical Operations Based From N81 At Hammonton, NJ In Addition To Law Enforcement Duty. Now, It Is Only A Law Enforcement Platform After Rich Miller, The CEO, And Linda Whitworth-Less, The Former Chief Flight Nurse, At Virtua Health In Voorhees, NJ Made A Wildly Poor And Extremely Unpopular Decision Not To Renew Their Contract With The New Jersey Department Of Health To Supply Flight Nurses And Flight Paramedics, Which Lead To The Closure Of This Nationally-Acclaimed Aeromedical Program On July 1, 2016 That Served The Citizens Of The State Of New Jersey For Over 25 Years. Despite A Petition Containing Signatures Of Over 60000 New Jersey Residents, This Decision To Close The Aeromedical Program Was Never Reconsidered By Virtua Health, Nor Was It Positively Addressed By Gov. Chris Christie, And No Other EMS Programs In The Country Applied To The RFQ By The State Of New Jersey Which Would Supply Funding For The Aeromedical Program. The Final Decision By Virtua Health To Close Their Support Of The Aeromedical Program Was Not Shared With The New Jersey State Police Aviation Bureau Until It Was Announced Publicly On The SouthSTAR Aeromedical Helicopter Facebook Page, Days Before The July 1, 2016 Closure, Catching The Aviation Bureau By Surprise. The New Jersey State Police Own Five Of These State-Of-The-Art AgustaWestland AW139 Helicopters, Only One Of Which - NorthSTAR Based At KSMQ In Somerville, NJ Which Has Flight Nurses And Flight Paramedics Supplied By The University Of Medicine And Dentistry Of New Jersey's (UMDNJ) EMS Program - Operates As A Aeromedical Helicopter, While All Others Are Now Dedicated Law Enforcement Platforms Performing Those And Homeland Security Missions Throughout The State By New Jersey's Finest.